Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) Sets New Record With iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus Sales

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By Mark Michaels on September 26, 2014 Company, Technology & Software

After hitting record sales numbers of 10 million units for the company’s new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus during the first weekend of sales, Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL) has seen its sales performance has blown the expectations of analysts and investors out of the water, who had predicted lower sales numbers due to supply constraints.

The opening weekend for the new iPhone model this year set record breaking figures for Apple Inc, surpassing last year’s sales of the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C by more than 1 million units. The number of iPhones that were sold was an exorbitant figure, especially considering that China was not on the list of countries that is to initially sell the devices.

According to reports released by the company, the delay that the company is experiencing in launching the new iPhones in China was a result of the shortage of inventory that would be available for shipment. Tim Cook, the chief executive officer of Apple Inc, released a statement that said that the company could have sold more a higher number of iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus units if the company had a greater availability of stock. Mr. Cook stated that the company is doing everything it can to fill orders as soon as possible.

Thanks to the boost of Apple’s strong first weekend of sales, the company’s stocks opening at a price of $101.80 a share on September 22^nd. Throughout the day, the company’s share price rose as high as $103.74. The stock’s moving average, according to reports, is said to be $101.36.

According to Gene Munster, an analyst at Piper Jaffray, the firm maintained an Outperform rating for Apple Inc with a stock price target of $120. Mr. Munster stated that it may be challenging to figure out the sell through against the channel fill in the 10 million devices that were sold, but he predicted the sell through to hit about 8 million units, which is still higher than the estimate last year for the iPhone 5s of 5.5 million units.

Aaron Rakers, an analyst at Stifel, stated that the opening weekend sales for Apple Inc’s iPhone have steadily increased over the years.

According to analysts at Stifel, sales for the iPhone are estimated to hit about 96.3 million by the holiday quarter. The analysts also predicted that Apple’s average selling price for the iPhone will grow for future iPhones since the iPhone 6 Plus has a higher price tag and has been selling out and in stores first.

Apple has also released reports that the company will offer the new iPhone models to 115 different countries by the end of the year. The rapid expansion is predicted to bring Apple more sales and more share of the market.

Brian White and Isabel Zhu, two analysts from Cantor Fitzgerald, stated that the iPhone maker has reached their expectations for sales of the iPhone, which they previously predicted to be between 9.5 and 10 million units. The two analysts stated that Apple has been able to set a new high record for opening weekend sales even if it is struggling with problems with supply and the fact that Apple did not take advantage of the potential of early sales in China. Cantor Fitzgerald has released a Buy rating for the Apple stock and a $123 per share price target.